The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-25
GOOD STORIES OF PRESENT DAY.
How We Stopped the Great Mutiny
Aboard the Packet Ship Queen Bess.
FROM the Neg York sun

ABOARD ING racket snip queen Be5S.
From the NetC York sun
Many years ago, before the English gave
up Tasmania as a penal colony, was a
cabin boy on the Australian packet Queen
Bess In those days every packet to Aus.
tralia was q wded with emigrants, soldiers
and adventures. and on this occasion our
passenger list had great many of the lat
ter. There seemed to be regular hegira
of bad men from Liverpool and London
about that date, and I'll venture to saw we
had fifty aboard who had no respect for the
laws of the land or the high,seas. They
were fighting among themselves before we
were out of sight of land, and heard the
Captain saying to the first mate that the
handouts and shackles should be made
ready and the brig overhauled, for it was
likely that some of the gentry must soon be
taken care of. The brig is the lookup on
board of ship, and in those days every
packet had one provided, and on long voy-
ages the brigS were much used.
| was IS years old the day we left Liver
pool, and | had already made one voyage to
Australia and return with Capt Flemming.
While we carried three cabin boys, | was
engaged to wait on the Captain alone. He
was very kind and fatherly to me from the
first day I set foot on his ship, and had a
much pleasanter lot than usually falls to the
bov who takes to the sea for living. I
don't say that l was any keener than the
average boy of my age, but somehow when
/ came to look over our crowd as we were
about ready to sail, l saw trouble ahead
Two or three tr1fling incidents helped me to
make up my mind to this. Most of the sail
ors who had been the other VOYAGE had re-
shipped for this one. There was one whom
positively hated-a TALL evil-eyed, hang
dog fellow-and OH the night before sailing.
as | was doing an errand for the first mate,
Mr.. Cotton, at public house near the dock
I saw this sailor and two evil-looking lands
men in close conversation over their ale 1t
so happened that | stood near them while
waiting, and [ heard one of the men address
the sailor with:
Now, Bill, it is all understood"
Yes"
IF they come aboard we are to help 'em
take the ship"
I'VE are"
1.-THE women and children and such others
as don't care to join us are to be landed
somewhere, and then for a free-and-easy
life
That's the talk, mate" exclaimed Bill.
"And it is to be an even divide of cash
all around" put in the second landsman.
st is. We shall have to have officers, of
course, but one man will be as good as an
other, and it shall be sha'e and share alike :"
And how many men have you soundedp'
Bill spread his greA*s. hairy hand or the
table and counted Off on his fingers:
There's Jack-and Tom-and Robbins
and and-but guess that's all
It's too early yet. When you want man
for desperate work don't give him too long
to think of it."
At this point | was called away, and when
l returned to the ship / went directly to the
Captains cabin and related all had heard.
Some sea Captains, in their arrogance and
conceit, would have covered me with con-
tempt. Capt. Flemming listened atten-
lively until had finished, and then he sent
me to call Mr. Cotton and Mr. johnson, the
latter being the seco - mate. 1 had to re-
peat the conversation ror their benefit
what do you know about Bill, the sail
orr" asked the Captain.
HE was in my watch on the voyage
home" answered the second mate, land |
put him down for vicious, mutinous dog
Nothing but a blow from Delaying pin
will help him along when he is in one of his
moods"
Mr.. Cotton didn't take much stock in my
story. He was one of those opinionated
men who never take kindly to anything
coming second hand. Mr. Robinson believed
/ had overheard all l said, but secuted the
idea that there was any plan against the
ship. They were ordered to keep their eyes
open in every direction from the hour we
sailed, and when they had gone the Captain
turned to me with:
snow, Albert, l am satisfied in my own
mind, from the character of some of the
passengers going out with us, that plot of
some sort is Matching. You can come and
go without suspicion. Beginning to-mor-
row, / want you to keep circulating through
the ship. Keep your eyes and ears open
day and night and you need do no other
work. Whenever you hear or see anything
suspicious let me know
Most of the roughs and toughs came
aboard at the last hour They had lots of
friends to take parting drink with, and
four fifths of them were the worse for liquor.
/ stood at the gangway and sized each one
up as they came aboard and i wondered
greatly that the officers didn't seem to no.
mce what rough crowd they were. The
fact that nearly all of them seemed to know
each other was in itself suspicious Incl
dent, at least to my mind. | noted, also,
that in the first hour of sailing many of the
toughs seemed to be acquainted with a
round dozen of our men before the mast.
From the hour of sailing l was the ghost
of the ship | was engaged in work which
interested my whole nature, and | was TOO
excited to sleep more than an hour at a
time. While | had access to every part of
the ship, [ spent most of my time either
with the sailors in the forecastle or the pas
sengers in the Storage. remembered the
faces of the two men had seen with Bill
in the public house, and realizing that they
would be at the head of any plot, [ hung
around them like coast fever. We had
been out thirteen days before picked up a
single word, and by that time had almost
made myself believe that had brought the
Captain a cock-and-bull story. Indeed,
there were hours when | doubted if | had
heard the conversation in the public house
which | reported In going among the
Storage passengers put on an old suit,
and those people supposed | had parents
aboard and wa: going to the new land. l
also assumed a trifiing way, and it was COM
mon enough to hear them say to each other
that was light in the upper story. hung
about the two men great deal, and as |
made them presents of tobacco and ran err
rands for them, they never drove me away
1t was on the afternoon of the thirteenth
day that the men were sitting on their chests
and pretended to be asleep on bundle Of
stuff near them, that they were joined by
three other men. The five were quite by
themselves, and they had no sooner come
together than Bill said:
Il have good news for you. We have
twelve sailors won over, and there are men
among the passengers fit to command frig-
ate who will gladly join with us when the
time comes. How many names have you
got down DickT'
''Thirty-eight," replied a gruff voice,